FORMER Wales skipper Stephen Jones believes there is a bright future ahead for Welsh rugby, purely based on the number of talented youngsters he sees coming through the ranks.

Jones, who was named as captain of Wales by former head coach Gareth Jenkins, was part of the squad that crashed out of the World Cup without getting as far as the knock out stages, but is confident better things are to come.

An injury in Wales’ last day of a training camp in France – less than two months before the tournament began – almost ruined his chances of being selected for the competition.

But after fighting his way to fitness – and missing Wales’ three World Cup warm-up matches – he was declared fit enough to rejoin the squad, albeit as just a player after Gareth Thomas was named captain to lead Wales through the tournament.

And Jones was also having to fight for his place in the starting line-up against young prodigy James Hook, one of the players that the Scarlets’ fly-half envisages has a top career ahead of him.

But after being dumped out of the competition at the hands of South Sea Islanders Fiji in their final pool game in Nantes, head coach Jenkins got the bullet and Wales returned home with their tails between their legs.

Jenkins was given the axe while still in the hotel in France, and a worldwide search for a new coach began with New Zealander Warren Gatland eventually being given the task of leading Wales out of the doldrums.

But Jones admits he is looking forward to working with the highly experienced former Ireland and London Wasps supremo, even if he has only met him once by pure chance many years ago.

“I have met him, just the once,” said Jones. “It was coming back on a flight from Ireland, after we had played Munster. He was the coach of Ireland and was on the same flight as us.

“He has had success really everywhere he has been and hopefully he can help rekindle the fortunes of Wales.

“Everyone now starts on a clean slate. He is going to come in and form his own opinions rather quickly, because the Six Nations is just around the corner.

“But he has got a lot of experience and has got a very good track record everywhere he has been. He is someone who has been in coaching for a long time and has got some outstanding results.”

Jones hopes Gatland will be given time to stamp his own unique style on Wales, rather than this all too familiar revolving door surrounding Welsh rugby coaches.

Gatland’s first game in charge will be a tough assignment though as Wales take on England in the Six Nations at Twickenham, a place where they have not won for almost two decades.

But Jones is confident it is the perfect place for him to begin his reign as new coach.

“We have got to look forward to the Six Nations,” said Jones. “It is a huge competition and we start off with a huge game at Twickenham against England.

“We’ll have a new coach in charge by then and I think it is a perfect game for him to start with. If as players you can’t get yourself up to play England then who can you get yourself up for?”

And Jones is confident that the talent he sees coming through the ranks at regional level and breaking into the Wales set-up is leaving him with a real sense of optimism for the future.

“Looking at the Welsh squad as a whole it is a pretty young squad of players that are only going to get better,” he added. “There are a lot of young players and a lot of them have got bags of talent.

“We have got into a bit of a losing habit at the moment, and losing can become a habit, so we have got to turn that around, but there are some very good players in the squad or on the verge of the squad.”